RS Group PLC (LSE:RS1) boss Lindsley Ruth will step down with immediate effect, with finance chief David Egan to continue as acting CEO until a permanent successor is appointed.
It was announced last month that Ruth was taking a leave of absence due to personal reasons, and today the FTSE 100-listed company said that Ruth has "agreed with the Board that due to personal reasons he will step down as CEO with immediate effect".
He will be available to the board if required over the 12 months of his notice period.
Ruth is known to have previously suffered from stress and ill health in the job and from the strain of being away from his family, who have remained in the United States, the Times newspaper noted, citing previous interviews where he mentioned "multiple problems, blood pressure going up...[as] the stress of it all was taking a toll".
Since Ruth joined the company that was then known as Electrocomponents as CEO on 1 April 2015, the share price has risen 285% with peaks in late-2021 of above 400%, enabling it to re-enter London's blue-chip index, analysts at UBS pointed out, thanks to the turnaround he led.
"By further pushing the company into the digital channel, investing for expansion in key areas, refocusing the culture on customer service, and removing complexity, he and his team have driven a significant improvement in performance," the analysts added.
Organic revenue growth averaging 4.3% in the ten year up to 2015 and 8.0% since, with underlying profit margins 6.4% in the year he joined and now stand above 12.5%.
"Given the success of this period, the transition to a new CEO brings new risks; investors had already been concerned when Ruth took a leave of absence for personal reasons in Nov'19-Feb'20.
"We would note that, compared to the early days of his tenure, the company is now in a much stronger place with a much deeper management team, but equally have seen Ruth's drive to be 'best in class' and industry knowledge as important to achieving further improvements," the analysts added.
UBS has a 'buy' rating on RS shares, with a 1300p price target.